SEATTLE -- One of Matthew Boyd's specialities is his pick-off move -- a bit of deception that has caught plenty of baserunners by surprise over the years. It did not work on Friday and actually led to Cubs manager Craig Counsell being ejected -- on his birthday, no less.
In the fifth inning of the Cubs’ 6-5, 10-inning loss to the Mariners, Boyd attempted a pick-off play with Seattle’s Brock Rodden on first base. Home-plate umpire Brennan Miller called a balk, eliciting a confused reaction from Boyd and some heated words from Counsell in the third-base dugout.
“It’s not a balk. He hasn’t been called for a balk in seven years,” Counsell said after the loss. “It’s a situation where the umpire got fooled and made up a call, because he got fooled. It’s not a balk. Flat out. No other umpire is calling that a balk.”
Between the fifth and sixth inning, Boyd walked over to Miller to talk things over and they chatted near the visitors’ dugout at T-Mobile Park. Counsell said something and Miller immediately turned to the manager and tossed him from the game. Counsell then moved to the field to air some more thoughts before exiting.
For Counsell, it marked his fifth ejection of the year, tying his most in any one season. He was also ejected five times in 2018 and ‘21 when he managed the Brewers.
Boyd was asked what explanation Miller offered.
“He thought that I was going to the plate, to sum things up,” Boyd said. “It’s the same move I’ve done. It’s the first time that move’s been called a balk since 2019, when [former umpire] Joe West called it from third base. Any run can make a difference in a game that’s a tie game, right? Obviously, I would’ve loved to be better.”
The balk call was costly for Boyd, who allowed an RBI single two batters later to Randy Arozarena that put the Cubs in a 5-3 hole. The Cubs lefty also allowed four runs in the second inning, when Cal Raleigh launched a three-run homer and Brendan Donovan connected for a two-out, run-scoring single off Boyd.
“It’s unfortunate,” Boyd said. “It’s more the Cal homer [that was the difference]. The other ones are going to happen, the soft contact. The Cal homer, I could’ve done something better with. That’s a three-run mistake. When the boys put up a three-spot in the first, that’s a tough one.”
Boyd’s six-inning outing (four earned runs) in Seattle gave him a 6.12 ERA in his last four turns for Chicago, following a seven-start run in which he logged a 1.93 ERA.
Boyd currently has four pick-offs this season through 16 starts for the North Siders. Last year, the left-hander successfully converted 11 pick-offs, which set a single-season record for the Cubs. It also represented the most in one year for a pitcher in the Majors since Clayton Kershaw also had 11 in 2012.
The balk call played a role in Boyd’s outing on Friday, but Chicago’s offense also had its issues, ending 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position.
“We had opportunities to win the game,” Counsell said. “That’s what you kind of look back on. I think a call cost us a run in that game. But in the end, they got the big hit.”